PORTLAND, Ore. — They are our community’s most critically ill children – and now, Providence is expanding its ability to care for them.

On April 29, Providence added capacity to its pediatric inpatient unit and opened a new pediatric intensive care unit, or PICU, at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center. The PICU complements Providence St. Vincent’s 60-bed neonatal intensive care unit, which is the largest NICU in Oregon.

“We will now be able to offer more children and their families compassionate and safe care, consistent with our Providence Mission to serve the most vulnerable in our community,” said Janice Burger, chief executive at Providence St. Vincent.

“In the past, when critically ill children arrived at our emergency departments or became too ill to be cared for in our pediatric unit, we had to send them to another hospital,” added Kathy Criswell, executive, regional women and children’s program. “The PICU allows us to provide a connected experience of care for families already in a Providence facility.”

Providence Health & Services in Oregon is a not-for-profit Catholic network of hospitals, care centers, health plans, physicians, clinics, home health care and affiliated services guided by a Mission of caring that the Sisters of Providence began in the West nearly 160 years ago.